UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND, JOHANNESBURG

Master?Diploma in Public Health

Welcome to the MPH/DPH programme, designed to meet the needs of the twenty-first century public health practitioner. This programme is co-ordinated by Dr Nicola Christofides, supported by Mrs Leane Ramsoomar (MPH I coordinator), Dr. Andrew Swanepoel (MPH II coordinator) and Dr. Gill Nelson (MPH III (research component) coordinator) and staff from across the School. The course administrator is Tumisho Mashasha.  

Broadly, the programme strives to develop public health practitioners who will:

·         Promote equity in health.

·         Play a leadership role in public health.

·         Attain a broad understanding of the core disciplines of public health.

·         Develop expertise in at least one area within the broad field of public health.

·         Develop a comprehensive understanding of health, the health care system and public health problems.

·         Develop skills of critical and analytical thinking.

In addition to the core foundational skills and competencies required as public health practitioners, the School offers at least three fields of study (specialisation) each year, depending on the number of registered students.

Currently, the programme offers a choice of specialisation in Health Systems and Policy, Social and Behavioural Change Communication, Rural Health, Maternal and Child Health, and Occupational Hygiene. The school offers three fields of study at every intake, which means  not every field of study is offered every year. The following courses are on offer in 2014: Maternal and Child Health, Health Systems and Policy, Occupational Hygiene, Social and Behavioural Change Communication and Rural Health.

Prospective students

The MPH/DPH is offered as a full time programme over two years or more usually as a part-time programme over three or more years. In order to accommodate the work/study interface, most fields of study (FoS) are offered only as part-time programmes. Students wishing to study full time should contact the course administrator The course has three parts:

  • Part I (MPH/DPH I): consists of a compulsory orientation, five core courses that are common to all students entering the programme, (irrespective of the MPH/DPH fields of study) and one course determined by your field of study. (6 one-week blocks).

Please click here to view the five core courses.

 Part II (MPH/DPH II): consists of two common courses and four courses in your chosen specialised field of study (6 one-week blocks), except for Occupational Hygiene, which has 5 specialization courses and 2 common courses in Part II

Click here for information on the fields of specialisation.

Part III (MPH III): consists of a research report in your specialised field of study; in partial fulfilment of the MPH degree. This is ONLY applicable to MPH students.

Click here for information on the research component of the MPH. For guidelines on the research project within the Occupational Hygiene specialisation, click here or contact Andrew.swanepoel@wits.ac.za for further information.

Note that students MUST register at the beginning of each year (even while doing MPH III), and MUST remain registered until graduation.

Diploma in Public Health

Students registered for a DPH will complete only Parts I and II. The Diploma in Public Health (DPH) consists of two parts each made up of six week-long courses. DPH I and II is the same as for MPH1 students.

The Diploma shall extend over not less than one academic year of full-time study; or not less than two academic years of part-time study.

MPH/DPH Admission Requirements

A bachelor’s degree of at least four years duration in dental science, medicine, surgery, nursing, occupational therapy, pharmacy, physiotherapy, or Bachelor of Science Honours;

A Bachelor of Arts or Sciences with honours in psychology or sociology, social work or other field of relevance to public health; or,

By special arrangement with the University.

Application process and forms

Written motivation by the applicant detailing motivation for applying for the course and how the program fits with their overall career goals.

  • Comprehensive Curriculum vitae including a description of relevant research and work experience
  • A motivation for the field of study
  • Two confidential referee reports.
  • Certified copies of prior qualification(s).
  • Original transcripts of qualifications.
  • Evidence of familiarity with computer packages such as MS word, Excel, PowerPoint, MS access etc.
  • Foreign Qualifications evaluation from SAQA for applicants who graduated from non- South African universities.
  • English competency certificate or evidence of prior undergraduate training in English.

Application Process

The deadlines for applications are on 31 July each year. The deadline for study in 2013 has passed. The next deadline for MPH applications will be 31 July 2014.

The next opportunity to apply for the MPH/DPH is between March and July 2013.

Click here to read the brochure. Application forms are available here; for other forms/documents on the application letter, international clearance, medical aid cover, residence application forms, click here. If you have queries on course fees, foreign students, accommodation and more, click here: Frequently Asked Questions.

Timetable (please note the dates may be subject to change)

Click here for the MPH I timetable.

Current students

Click here for the orientation manual, which provides details on the programme, resources available in the School of Public Health, staff and important information on plagiarism.

MPH downgrade/DPH upgrade

Currently a postgraduate student may enter the programme in order to do a Masters in Public Health (i.e. complete Parts I, II and III) or may enter the programme in order to do a Diploma in Public Health (i.e. complete Parts I and II). A student may request permission to either downgrade their Masters to a Diploma (or not complete a Research Report after successfully passing Parts I and II) or to upgrade from a Diploma to a Masters Degree (and complete a Research Report after successfully passing Parts I and II of the programme).  The DPH only can be upgraded to an MPH if the student’s overall performance during DPH Part I and II meets the requirements as outlines in the orientation handbook. Click here for more information.

Research

All Masters students are required undertake a research project. The research constitutes 50% of the MPH degree and 25% of the MSc degree respectively. The research process commences during MPH Part II and MSc Part I when students develop a protocol. The protocol needs to be submitted to, and approved by, the post-graduate protocol assessor group. Click here for the form that must be completed and signed by your supervisor and submitted to the research administrator prior to submission.

 The protocol assessor groups are organised by the Post Graduate Research Co-ordinator of the School of Public Health. The purpose of the assessor groups is to review students’ protocols in order to guide them on the quality of their research. Each student is allocated 30 minutes during which time he/she presents a short overview of the protocol and the assessors ask questions and raise concerns about various aspects of the protocol, including the depth and scope of the literature review, the methodology to be employed and the implementation of the study. At the end of the meeting, the assessor group makes one of four decisions regarding the student’s protocol:

 Approved

  1. Revision to the satisfaction of the supervisor / HOD
  2. Revision to the satisfaction of the same assessor group
  3. Revision and re-submission to the next assessor group

The protocol assessor group comprises four members. One member is a Faculty of Health Sciences representative and the other three are SPH staff members, either full-time or honorary. The group is always chaired by a SPH staff member. Click here for a timetable of the 2013 assessor group meetings.   

Before the research is undertaken, and after the protocol has been approved by the assessor committee/group, the student must submit the protocol for consideration to the Human Research Ethics Committee (Medical). Click here for the checklist, application form, and submission dates.